Suction cleaner with converter facility



May 1l, 1954 l.. E. sEGEsMAN SUCTIN CLEANER WITH CONVERTER FACILITY 4 Shee'ts-Sheet l Filed Nov. 8, 1949 INVENTOH. ms E Sagem/z BY 5,' Eine/4Q vh ATTORNEY.

May 11. 1954 l.. E. sEGEsMAN 2.6773846 SUCTION CLEANER WITH CONVERTER FACILITY 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 F'iled Nov. 8, 1949 Si@ l: l2

INVENTOR. mais E .Saymzm BY ATTORNEY.

May 1l, 1954 l.. E. sEGEsMAN SUCTION CLEANER WITH CONVERTER FACILITY 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Nov. 8, 1949 n INVENTOH. LozzLsE. Segesma/z f 4 ATTORNEY.

May 11,1954 E. sEGEsMAN SUCTION CLEANER WITH CONVERTER FACILITY 4 Sheets-Sheet- 4 Filed NOV. 8, 1949 INVENTOH. 01u15 E. ges/nmz BY f4/,y 5,7

ATTORNEY.

Patented May 11, 1954 SUCTION CLEANER WITH CONVERTER FACILITY Louis E. Segesman, Canton, Ohio, assignor to The Hoover Company, North Canton, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application November 8, 1949, Serial No. 126,116

16 Claims.

This invention relates to suction cleaners and more particularly to a means for raising the suction nozzle thereof above the surface upon which the cleaner rests as an incident to converting the cleaner for oif-the-fioor cleaning.

More particularly the rear supporting wheels are movably connected to the body of the cleaner and are normally positioned rearwardly of the center of gravity thereof to support the nozzle at a definite distance above the surface being cleaned and are shiftable forwardly of the center of gravity of the machine whereby the body of the cleaner will tilt rearwardly about the rear wheels and thus raise the nozzle above the surface upon which the cleaner rests.

According to one modification of the invention the converter passageway extends rearwardly from the fan eye beneath the exhaust passageway between the rear wheels to receive a converter tool. |The rear wheels are attached to the body of the cleaner by a pair of links normally extending downwardly and rearwardly on opposite sides of the converter passageway with the wheels positioned rearwardly of the center of gravity of the machine. The construction is such that upon insertion of the converter tool into the rearwardly extending converter passageway the wheel supporting links will be shifted forwardly so as to extend downwardly and forwardly with the rear wheels positioned forwardly of the center of gravity of the machine.

According to a second modification of the invention a handle is pivoted to the body of the cleaner rearwardly of the center of gravity thereof and is provided with a linkage mechanism connected to the links which support the rear wheels whereby movement of the handle to storage position will shift the supporting links forwardly to move the rear wheels forwardly of the center of gravity of the machine and to simultaneously release a barrier in the converter passageway. According to the second modification in order to restore the cleaner for on-the-floor cleaning it is merely necessary to lift upwardly on the handle whereby the cleaner body will pivot downwardly about the handle pivot and the mechanism which connects the handle to the wheel supporting links will automatically restore the wheels to their rearward position rearwardly of the center of gravity of the machine.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent as the description proceeds when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a side View of a suction cleaner of known construction with certain parts broken away to show how one modification of this invention is applied thereto;

Figure 2 is a bottom view of the cleaner of Fig. 1 showing the parts in the position in which the rear wheels are shifted forwardly of the center of gravity of the machine;

Figure 3 is a side view similar to Fig. 1 showing how a second modification of the invention is applied to the cleaner;

Figure 4 is a bottom view of the modification of Fig. 3 showing the wheels shifted forwardly of the center of gravity of the machine; and

Figure 5 is a schematic view showing how the wheels of the modification of Figs. 3 and 4 are shifted by movement of the handle.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, the reference numeral i0 represents the body of a suction cleaner mounted for ambulatory movement on front wheels Il and rear wheels l2 and adapted to be propelled over a surface by a handie i3 pivoted to the body il at the rear thereof.

The body i0 is provided with a suction nozzle Hl communicating by way of suction passageway I6 with an eye l5 of a fan directly connected to a motor housed within the hood l l. The motorfan shaft I3 extends downwardly through the fan eye l5 and is provided with a pulley E9 at its lower end. A belt 20 is driven by the pulley i9 and extends forwardly through the suction passageway I6 and is drivingly connected to an agitator 2i rotatably mounted within the nozzle ill in a position to agitate the surface covering as the covering is drawn upwardly against the lips of the nozzle I4.

During normal on-the-iioor cleaning the motor is energized to rotate the fan and agitator 2i whereby air is drawn through the surface covering as it is agitated to remove dirt therefrom. The dirt-laden air is drawn through the suction passageway I6, through the fan eye l5 into the fan chamber and is discharged through the exhaust passageway 22 into a filter bag 23.

In order to convert the cleaner to oE-the-floor cleaning a converter passageway 2li extends rearwardly beneath the exhaust passageway 22 from the fan eye l5 to the rear of the cleaner between the rear wheels i2.

The rear wheels l2 are rotatably mounted on the lower ends of links 25, pivoted at their upper ends at 26 to the opposite sides of the body it slightly to the rear of the center of gravity of the cleaner. Links 25 are biased rearwardly by light springs 2l so that the rear wheels i2 are normally held in the dot-dash line position of Fig. 1 to the rear of the center of gravity of the cleaner. The ends 29 of an operating crank link 28 are pivoted to the links 25 near their lower ends. The crank link 28 is spring-biased counter-clockwise by light springs 3l) so that its straight portion 3l is held against the underside of the converter passageway 24 at all times.

rihe converter passageway 24 is normally closed from the suction passageway by a gate valve 32 biased to its closed position by a spring 33. The valve 32 is adapted to be opened by the insertion of a converter tool 34 into the converter passageway 24 from the rear. The converter as such forms no part of the present invention and may take the form shown in Fig. 8 of the patent to White 2,450,846 dated October 5, 1948. The front of the converter spans the shaft IS` above the pulley I9 and closes olf the fan eye I5 from the suction passageway i6 whereby the suction produced by the fan will draw air through the converter tool 34 which has its rear end connected to any suitable cleaning tool by means of a flexible hose.

The lower wall of the converter passageway 24 is slotted at 35 to slidably receive a hook 3E projecting downwardly from the converter tool 34. A roller 3? is rotatably mounted to the bottom wall of the converter passageway 24 at the extreme rear of the cleaner.

Operation of Figs. 1 and 2 The natural way to insert the converter tool 34 into the converter .passageway 24 is to tip the body Ill of the cleaner forwardly onto the nozzle I4 so. that the rear entrance of the converter passageway 24 is readily accessible for insertion of the converter tool. That will of necessity raise the rear wheels I2 from the surface upon which the cleaner rests.

As the converter tool 34 is inserted the hook 35 will engage the portion 3l of the link 25. rThe protruding end of the hook 36 will hold the portion 3i of link 28 against the bottom wall of the converter passageway 24 as the converter is inserted. The portion 3l will then slide along the bottom wall of converter passageway 24 to cause the link 28 to simultaneously move forwardly and rotate counter-clockwise, as viewed in Fig. l, and cause the links 25 to rotate clockwise to the position shown in full lines of Fig. l about their pivots 26 and against the bias of the light springs 21. As the links 25 pass eneath their pivot points 26 the link 28 will continue to move forwardly but will be rotated clockwise to the full line position of Fig. 1. The end of the converter tool 34 will engage the valve 32 and open it as the converter enters the suction passageway I5 beneath the fan eye I5.

In the full line position of Fig. 1 the rear wheels I2 are well forward of the center of gravity of the cleaner. The cleaner may then be returned to the oor whereby the over balanced weight of the cleaner will cause it to tip rearwardly about the rear wheels I2 onto the roller 31 whereby the nozzle I4 will be raised upwardly so that carpets, etc., upon which the cleaner rests will not be injured during oif-the-floor use of the cleaner.

The weight of the cleaner will hold the rear wheels in their forward position as shown in full lines of Fig. 1. While the springs 2l tend to return the rear wheels to their rearward position the combined action of the weight of the cleaner and the friction of the parts is sufficient to hold the wheels forwardly.

To return the cleaner to its on-the-floor posi- 4 tion it is only necessary to again tip the cleaner forwardly onto the nozzle I4 and remove the converter tool 34 from the passageway 24 and the springs 2'I will return the wheels I2 to their rearward position and return the parts to the posi-- tion shown in the dot-dash lines of Fig. 1.

The cleaner of the modification of Figs. 3, 4, and 5 is similar to that of Figs. 1 and 2 and where the parts are the same they have been given the same reference characters. lin the modification of Figs. 3, 4, and 5 the wheels are shifted forwardly by the action of placing the handle in storage or other inoperative position and a barrier is provided to prevent insertion of the converter tool until the Wheels are thus shifted.

A pair of rods 45 are secured to the sector 4I of handle I3 and extend laterally from the body Ill into alignment with the links 25. Secured to the ends of the rods 4l) are gear segments 42 which mesh with segments 43 integral with the upper ends of the links 25. Each segment 43 is provided with a large tooth 4'I which is in engagement with the complementary recess 48 in each segment 42 when the handle I3 is in its vertical storage position.

Stops 44 extend laterally from the frame I0 to limit rearward movement of the links 25. These stops are so positioned that the rear wheels I2 will be in proper position to hold the nozzle I4 at its proper distance from the floor for on-the-floor cleaning.

Pivoted to the underside of the converter passageway 24 is a barrier 45 ywhich is normally spring-biased to lie even with the upper surface f of the bottom wall of the passageway 24. The

barrier 45 has a tail portion 46 adapted to be contacted by the portion 3I of the link 28 when the wheels are in rearward position to project the barrier 45 upwardly into the passageway 24 and prevent insertion of the converter tool until the rear wheels are shifted forwardly.

In both modifications the link 23 acts to brace the links 25 and to cause them to move in unison.

Operation of Figs. 3 and 4 ln normal on-the-oor cleaning the wheels are positioned in their rearward position as shown in dot-dash lines of Fig. 3 and the barrier 45 projects upwardly into the converter passageway 24 to prevent insertion of the converter tool 34. The teeth of the gear segments 42 and 43 are disengaged and the handle is free to pivot freely. It is to be noted that the teeth of the segments 42 and 42'A would become disengaged after approximately 30 movement of the handle from its vertical position.

When it is desired to convert to of-the-fioor cleaning the handle I3 is moved upwardly towards its vertical storage position. The handle will move freely until it reaches a position approximately 30 from its Vertical position at which time the teeth on the cooperating segments 42 and 43 will become engaged. Further movement of the handle will be resisted and the cleaner as a whole will tip forwardly to bring the nozzle I4 into contact with the oor and the weight of the cleaner will be removed from the rear wheels I2.

The coacting teeth on the segments 42 and 43 will then operate to move the links 25 forwardly to the full line position of Fig. 3 in the same manner as in the first modification. As the portion 3l of link 28 moves forwardly away from the tail 46 of the barrier 45 the barrier will be biased to the position shown in full lines of Fig. 3 to permit free entry of the converter tool 34 into the passageway 24.

The cleaner may then be rested on the floor and since the wheels I2 are well forward of the center of gravity of the machine it will tilt backwardly onto the roller 3l as in the first modication.

The handle will then be locked in its vertical storage position since it would be dimcult to restore the parts to their original position by a normay rearward movement of the handle because the wheels will be held in their forward position by the weight of the cleaner. Additionally, the force applied to the handle in any attempt to move it rearwardly would also tend to hold the wheels in their forward position.

l'n order to restore the parts to the position shown in dot-dash lines of Fig. 3 it is only necessary to lift upwardly on the handle which will cause the cleaner body to tilt downwardly about the handle pivot whereby the wheels I2 will be lifted from the floor. The springs 2l added to the action of the cleaner pivoting about the handle pivot will then restore the parts to the dot-dash line of Fig. 3 and render the cleaner suitable for on-the-floor cleaning.

While I have shown but two modifications of my invention it is to be understood that these modifications are to be taken as illustrative only and not in a limiting sense. I do not wish to be limited to the particular structure shown and described but to include all equivalent variations thereof except as limited by the scope of the claims.

I claim:

l. A suction cleaner comprising, a, body including a forwardly extending suction nozzle, front and rear pairs of wheels for supporting said body for ambulatory movement, separate means for attaching each of said rear wheels to opposite sides of said body, said attaching means being movably connected to said body so as to position said rear wheels rearwardly of the center of gravity of said body and being shiftable to position said rear wheels forwardly of the center of gravity of said body whereby said body will tilt rearwardly about said rear wheels to raise said nozzle above the surface upon which the cleaner rests and means connecting said separate attaching means to cause said rear wheels to move in unison.

2. A suction cleaner according to claim 1 including manually actuatable means for shifting said rear wheels forwardly of the center of gravity of said body.

3. A suction cleaner according to claim 1 including a handle pivoted to said body for propelling said body over a surface to be cleaned and means actuated by movement of said handle to shift said rear wheels forwardly of the center of gravity of said body.

4. A suction cleaner according to claim 1 including suction creating means, a converter passageway communicating with said suction creating means, a converter tool insertable into said converter passageway for closing oif communication between said suction creating means and said nozzle and said connecting means being actuated by the insertion of said converter tool into said converter passageway for shifting said rear wheels forwardly of the center of gravity of said body.

5. A suction cleaner according to claim 1 including air moving means, a converter passageway communicating with said air moving means,

a converter tool insertable into said converter `passageway and said connecting means being actuated by movement of said converter tool into said passageway for shifting said rear wheels forwardly of the center of gravity of said body.

6. A suction cleaner according to claim 1 including auxiliary supporting means carried by said body rearwardly of said rear wheels upon which said body rests when said rear wheels are shifted forwardly.

'7. A suction cleaner comprising, a body, front and rear wheels for supporting said body for movement over a surface, suction creating means, a downwardly facing nozzle at the front of said body, a suction passageway connecting said nozzle to said suction creating means, an auxiliary passageway communicating with said suction creating means, the arrangement being such that the center of gravity of the cleaner is toward the rear of said body, said rear supporting wheels being pivotally connected to said body slightly to the rear of the center of gravity of the cleaner and being shiftable forwardly of the center of gravity thereof, a converter tool insertable into said auxiliary passageway, the arrangement being such that insertion of said tool into said passageway shifts said rear wheels forwardly of the center of gravity of the cleaner and means associated with said rear wheels and being engageable by said converter tool upon its insertion into said auxiliary passageway for shifting said rear wheels forwardly.

8. A suction cleaner according to claim 7 in which said auxiliary passageway extends rearwardly from the suction creating means between said rear wheels.

9. A suction cleaner according to claim 8 in which said rear wheels are connected to said body by a pair of pivoted links one on either side of said body and normally extending downwardly and rearwardly on opposite sides of said auxiliary passageway to the rear of the center of gravity of the cleaner, means for connecting said links t0 cause them to move in unison, the arrangement being such that upon insertion of said converter tool into said auxiliary passageway the converter 'tool engages said connecting means to shift said links into a position where they extend forwardly and downwardly to the front of the center of gravity of the cleaner.

10. A suction cleaner comprising, a body including a downwardly facing nozzle at the front thereof, a pair of wheels rearwardly of said nozzle and xedly attached to opposite sides of said body, a pair of rear wheels movably attached to opposite sides of said body and normally positioned rearwardly of the center of gravity of said body whereby said nozzle is positioned a fixed distance above the surface upon which said cleaner rests and being shiftable to a position forwardly of the center of gravity of said body whereby said body will tilt rearwardly about said rear wheels to raise said nozzle upwardly from the surface upon'which the cleaner rests and movably actuatable means connected to each of said rear lwheels actuatable as an incident to converting the cleaner for olf-the-iioor cleaning and operable to shift said rear wheels in unison to their forward position.

11. A suction cleaner according to claim 10 including a handle pivoted to said body rearwardly of the center of gravity thereof for propelling said body over a surface and means connecting said handle and said rear wheels for shifting said rear wheels to their forward position, the arrangement being suchthat movement of said handle to its vertical position will actuate said connecting means to. shift. said rear wheels forwardly and an upward lift on said handle will cause said body to pivot downwardly about the handle pivot to shift. said rear wheels to their rearward position.

12. A suction cleaner according to claim 11 including a converter passageway for converting for off-the-oor cleaning and a barrier obstructing the entrance ofl said passageway, the arrangement being such. that said movement of said handle to its vertical position will cause said barrier to be released for movement from its obstructing position.

13. A suction cleaner comprising, a body, a suction creating fan including a suction chamber and an exhaust chamber carried by said body substantially centrally thereof, a downwardly facing suction nozzle on said body at the front thereof, a suction passageway connecting said nozzle and said suction chamber, an exhaust passageway extending rearwardly from said exhaust chamber to the rear of said body, a converter passageway extending rearwardly from said suction chamber to the rear of said body beneath said exhaust passageway, the arrangement being such that the center of gravity of said body is slightly to the rear of the center thereof, a pair of front wheels rigidly fixed to said body on either side thereof immediately to the rear of said nozzle, a second pair of wheels pivotally attached to said body on either side thereof by a pair of links pivoted to said body7 slightly to the rear of the center of gravity thereof and extending downwardly and rearwardly on either side of said exhaust and converter passageways and shiftable to extend downwardly and forwardly to a position wherein said second pair of wheels lie forwardly of the center of gravity of said body, means for connecting said links to cause them to move in unison, a converter tool insertable into said converter passageway, and means carried by said converter tool and engageable with said connecting means upon insertion of said tool into said converter passageway to shift said links and said second wheels. to their forward position.

1li. A suction cleaner according to claim 13 in which said connecting means comprises a link pivoted at its ends to said links and having a portion slidably engaging the lower wall of said converter passageway, said means carried by said converter tool engaging said portion to cause it to slide forwardly beneath said converter passageway and shift said links to their forward position.

15. A suction cleaner comprising, a body including a downwardly facing nozzle at the front thereof, a pair of wheels rearwardly of said nozzleA and nxedly attached to opposite sides of said body, means for movably attaching a pair of rear wheels to opposite sides of said body for normally holding saidy rear wheels rearwardly of the center of gravity of said body to position said nozzle in the xed distance above the surface upon which the cleaner rests and shiftable to move said rear wheels in unison to a position forwardly of the center of gravity of said body to cause said body to tilt rearwardly about said rear wheels to raise said nozzle upwardly from the surface upon which the cleaner rests and manually actuatable means connected to said attaching means actuatable to shift said rear wheels forwardly of the center of gravity of said body.

16. A suction cleaner comprising, a body, a suction creating fan including a suction chamber and an exhaust chamber carried by said body substantially centrally thereof, a downwardly facing 1 nozzle on said body at the front thereof, a suction passageway connecting said nozzle and said suction chamber, the arrangement being such that the center of gravity' of said body is slightly to the rear of the center thereof, a pair of front wheels rigidly fixed to said body on either side thereof immediately to the rear of said nozzle, a second pair of wheels pivotally attached to said body on either side thereof by a pair of links pivoted to said body slightly to the rear of the center i of gravity thereof and extending downwardly and rearwardly on either side of said body and shiftable to extend downwardly and forwardly to a position wherein said second pair of wheels lie forwardly of the center of gravity of said body, means for connecting said links to cause them to move in unison and manually actuatable means connected to said connecting means and operable to shift said links and wheels from their rearward position to their forward position.

References Cited in the file 0f this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,174,595 Pierce Oct. 3, 1939 2,280,269 Sparklin Apr. 21, 1942 2,325,796 Pierce Aug. 3, 1943 2,325,821 White Aug. 3, 1943 2,490,955 Foley Dec. 13, 1949 

